Firefighter Michael Williams, right, and a city code inspector survey damage from the backyard of a house that collapsed Thursday afternoon in the 700 block of General Pershing. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

An image of the house dated March 2011 from Google Maps.

A house under renovation on General Pershing Street collapsed Thursday afternoon, briefly trapping two workers until neighbors could pull them out.

When firefighters arrived in the 700 block of General Pershing around 2:15 p.m., neighbors were walking the two men out from the collapsed home, said Firefighter Michael Williams. Both men suffered obvious bruises and puncture wounds, Williams said.

“They were both able to walk out,” Williams said.

The roof had landed flat on the floor below, splaying two walls out into the yard. A pair of sunglasses could be seen in a small space where the roof was propped slightly up by a cinder block, creating a small space where one of the men was pulled from.

The New Orleans Fire Department’s initial report lists the cause as a construction accident. A city code inspector was on scene Thursday afternoon investigating.

Firefighter Michael Williams (right) and a code inspector discuss a collapsed house on General Pershing. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

A fire truck stands in front of a home on General Pershing that collapsed Thursday. (Robert Morris, UptownMessenger.com)

[Note: This article was first published at 3:40 p.m. Thursday and updated with photos and additional details at 4:43 p.m.]